By Rizwan Rehmat

DOHA: Canada’s rising tennis star Eugene Bouchard currently ranked number 61 is in no hurry to eye a return to top-10.

The 21-year-old reached a couple of Grand Slams semi-finals in 2014 to make her top-5 debut but in the middle of last year the Canadian plummeted down the rankings due to two first-round exits at the French Open and Wimbledon.

An unfortunate injury at the US Open forced Bouchard - who will feature at this week’s Qatar Total Open - out of the WTA Tour in September last year.

“I will take one tournament at a time. One week at a time” Bouchard said yesterday.

“I can’t put pressure on myself right away” the Canadian said.

“It (hitting top-10) will take some time. It is going to be a long journey after missing so many months because of injury” Bouchard said.

Bouchard said she knows she has potential to do ‘great things on a tennis court’.

“I mean I feel I am playing at a better level than I was last year. I know I can do it. It will take a lot of steps to get there” she said.

“I know I am able to do great things in this sport so I am going to try and do that” Bouchard said with an air of confidence in her statement.

Bouchard a wild card entry at the 64-player field in Doha this week is not reading too much into her possible clash against the Australian Open champion Aneglique Kerber.

“It (the draw) is not something that I focus too much on. First of all I play a qualifier (so) I don’t even know who I play until tomorrow” Bouchard said.

“That’s (meeting with Angelique Kerber) a couple of matches away. For me I am focused on one match at a time. You still have to focus on each match or else you will never get there” she said.

Bouchard feels more welcome in Doha this time around compared to her shock defeat in Doha two years ago

“This is my second time. I was here in 2014. I forgot how much I loved it here. When I played last time I came here after playing Fed Cup I lost and flew out straight away” Bouchard said.

“I didn’t enjoy my time at all then. This time I have spent a couple of days. Hopefully I will stay the whole week. I love it here so much. It is a friendly place. The welcome we get is so amazing” the Canadian said.

When reminded about her freak injury at the US Open last year Bouchard says she is looking forward to a year of new opportunities.

“The goal is to be better always. I felt 2015 is something that I want to forget about. I want to move forward. I want to focus on 2016” Bouchard said.

“First of all I want to enjoy being back on court. I missed a couple of months at the end of last season because of an injury. Second of all. I want to stay healthy. I want to improve and be better” she said.

“Well with regards to what media and what people around me say I try not to listen to all that too much” Bouchard said.

“I try to listen to my team my inner circle. I have my inner belief in my inner self. I know I can accomplish great things. Hopefully I will work hard and put it all together on court and hopefully if I am lucky it will come.

“It is a great job. I love it. I love doing it” Bouchard said.

The Canadian plays a qualifier in the first round at the $2.5m event.

The Peninsula